The exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 is a chapter of Indian history that is missing from school textbooks. In the absence of information, most Indians end up framing their understanding based on political rhetoric and media reports.
Siddhartha Gigoo, co-editor of A Long Dream of Home: The Persecution, Exile and Exodus of Kashmiri Pandits and author of The Garden of Solitude , a semi-autobiographical novel, wanted to erase this absence. He, and his co-editor Varad Sharma, have collected 29 memoirs from Kashmiri Pandits whose families faced the horror of being ousted from their own home. These were published by Bloomsbury in the form of an anthology in December last year.
“We have to keep narrating the tale over and over again; otherwise, the truth will die out. The younger generation of Kashmiri Pandits brought up in refugee camps in Jammu, or living in Delhi and other metros, have a right to know what happened to their elders. Else, they will become rootless,” says Gigoo, who will be in Mumbai to speak at a session, called ‘Homeland Tales’ which is part of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.
He adds, “Many people today, especially in Kashmir, do not recognise that what happened in 1990 was the persecution of an ethnic minority on the basis of their religion. They try to project the exodus as a conspiracy hatched by the Indian government in collaboration with Jagmohan, who was then Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Gigoo says, “It is important for Kashmiri Pandits to be able to tell their own story. History has to be kept alive through repeated utterances and expressions in various forms: books, art, films, and more.”
While Gigoo was working on the anthology, a book that kept stirring in his consciousness was The Diary of Anne Frank . He wanted to gather memoirs that would read like diary entries rather than academic essays, and tug at the hearts of people who would read them. Some of the people he approached were not comfortable with writing.
In those cases, Gigoo recorded oral interviews, transcribed them, and read out the transcripts to his interviewees to ensure accuracy. He is hoping that A Long Dream of Home will garner the attention of historians as well.
He and Sharma felt that it was absolutely essential to feature women’s experiences in the anthology. Speaking about this, Sharma says, “One of the women is a poet and painter. Another is a researcher and activist. Yet another is an elderly woman living in a camp. Then, we have one who is an executive working in a multinational company. Another is a teenage girl born and brought up in a camp. She is pursuing her bachelor's degree now.”
Gigoo’s work is intimately connected with the trauma his own family has faced. In 1990, he was a 15-year-old boy in Srinagar who saw posters pasted on shop fronts, doors, and electric poles ordering Kashmiri Pandit families to leave.
His father was on the militants’ hit list. Their neighbour, Nilla Kanth Raina, a retired professor of history, was shot dead by his own students who had joined a militant group. Gigoo's family decided to migrate to Udhampur, where he pursued his education at a camp school and a camp college.
Gigoo says, “Bal Thackeray was someone who helped Kashmiri Pandits a lot. Apart from Jammu and Delhi, many of them came to Maharashtra. Those who had completed Class 12 had nowhere to study. Thackeray instructed engineering colleges to make reservations for Kashmiri Pandit students, and to waive capitation fees.”
It is often alleged that politicians who claim secular credentials have not spoken up for Kashmiri Pandits. However, Gigoo maintains that no political party, irrespective of ideology, has the willingness to rehabilitate Pandits. He says, “The National Conference, the Congress, the People’s Democratic Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party; none of their governments have done anything substantial for Kashmiri Pandits. Yes, the BJP did put our issue on their election manifesto. But on the ground, nothing is happening. They are too busy sorting out their differences with the PDP. The current Prime Minister came to Srinagar and gave a big lecture but he did not visit Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu.”
Children of exile
However, Gigoo is aware that since his anthology documents the destruction of Hindu homes and temples, it can be appropriated by people who want to spark conflict between Hindus and Muslims.
He says, “Today’s Kashmiri Pandits are the children of exile. And today's Kashmiri Muslims are the children of conflict. Thousands of Muslims have lost their lives in the counter-insurgency operations. We must guard against people who use history selectively to divide us. When someone talks about the Babri Masjid demolition, they say: What about the temples that were destroyed in Kashmir? Two wrongs do not make a right. These are just divisive people trying to make a point.”
Siddhartha Gigoo and Varad Sharma will discuss Kashmir on Saturday, February 6 at 6.15 pm at the David Sassoon Library Garden as part of the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2016.
Chintan Girish Modi is a freelance writer who tweets at @chintan_connect
Gigoo wanted to gather memoirs that would tug at the hearts of people
who would read them
Published - February 05, 2016 12:00 am IST
